Pages

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

On
the day of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, Martyrs' Day,the above question comes to mind,
which is also the very basis of what we call the ‘deification of a hero’ in the
studies of Comparative Mythology.

Would generations after a few hundred years believe,
that a man managed to unite a diverse and large country, which was many small
countries by itself, achieved freedom from British and that too on the
principles of ahimsa or non-violence?
Many historians and scholars have found people in villages to believe that
Gandhiji was an avatar of god – how else could a person perform such enormous task
of throwing the British out, when they were firm for more than two hundred
years?

Many have compared Gandhiji with Gautam Buddha,
probably for the glaring similarities between the two –

Both were born in families which were well off –
Gandhiji was born in a well-to-do Gujarati family of a businessman and Gautam
was born to a King.

Both had a happy childhood and were educated –
Gandhiji went on to become a lawyer and Buddha got princely education

Both were married and had children

Both had events which led them to their individual
quest – Gandhiji had his experience while working in South Africa, while Gautam
experienced the four sights, both of which were turning points for them
individually

Gandhiji returned to India in his quest for swaraj, while Gautama left his kingdom
to seek nirvana

Both were against violence and proposed simple
living

Both were against the caste system and worked
for the downtrodden and the untouchables

Both had followers who have fought later – in
the case of Gandhiji, a nation got divided and in the case of Buddha, his faith
was divided as differences crept in, in the form of Mahayana, Hinayana and even
the Tibetan Buddhism.

Just what am I up to, is what many might
wonder. Why am I hell-bent on deifying an individual from History?

The whole idea is to show how heroes of the
past have got deified. This is exactly how many of the ‘gods’ could have got
deified in the course of the development of civilization. Miracles and
unbelievable deeds get credited to them; halo’s appear in their pictures. The
classic example in mythology is that of Indra from the Vedic times, where many
believe that Indra was a mortal hero who got deified during the Vedic times.
Many also feel that the epics Mahabharata & Ramayana could have some roots
in reality and many characters actually existed.

The following pictures have become part of the
lore. The picture below is titled as “Gandhiji
ki Swaryatra” – Gandhiji’s journey to heaven, by Narottam Narayan Sharma in
1948 where Gandhiji is shown above Nehru and Sardar Patel and being taken in
some sort of celestial carrier by two garlanding apsaras after his death. Many other leaders are shown mourning.

The following picture shows a pensive Gandhiji
being blessed by Lord Ram, a deity Gandhiji used to worship, made more famous
by his last words “He Ram”. This image, set up in modern times (modern buildings
and manicured lawns) with Lord Ram in his traditional attire is also seen as
the ‘appropriation of Gandhiji in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism’.

Besides the above, there are many such pictures
which deify Gandhiji and many other freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Netaji
Subhash Bose to name a few.

What is interesting is that this theory of
deification of heroes is not new. I would rather say, that it has only slowed
down in the modern times. What were once mortals have either been raised to the
status of gods or changing times have made their deeds so unbelievable, that
such deeds could only be the domain of deified heroes.

To conclude, I would like to quote what Albert Einstein
had to say about Gandhiji on his 70th birthday - “Generations to
come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a one ever in flesh and blood
walked upon this earth”.

As lawyers would say – I rest my case!

As mathematicians would say – Q.E.D.!!!

Picture Courtesy - 'Photos
of the Gods': The Printed Image and Political Struggle in India

Saturday, January 26, 2013

The picture given
below is considered to be one of the first, if not the first, usage of mythology in India’s nationalist movement. Many
might differ with me, when I make this statement about the usage of the above
for a ‘national movement’, but I will explain that slightly later.

Better known as
the Chourasi Devonwali Gaay, or ‘the
Cow of 84 Deities’ was part of a campaign launched by the founder of Arya
Samaj, Swami Dayanand Saraswati. In an article titled Gokarunanidhi, (Ocean of mercy
to the cow), in 1881, Swamiji strongly advocated the
ban of cow-slaughter which was widely prevalent then. The article soon found
lots of supporters and people spread to different parts of the country with
pamphlets and pictures advocating a ban on the slaughter of cows. This led to a
larger awareness and the formation of Gowrakshak-samitis,
Cow-protection groups and creation of gow-shalas,
or cow-refuges, for the old and abandoned cows.

Soon this
awareness drive got labelled as the Cow Protection Movement and the British
took note of the support that it was gaining. They smelt a potential threat in
this and seeds of discord were sown. The Muslims were agitated and branded this
movement as an anti-Muslim movement and India recorded its first communal riots
in 1893, in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, which took the authorities
about three days to get situation under control.

Many see this
movement as a religious movement of sorts which was obviously spearheaded by
Hindus. The reasons of my disagreement, as mentioned at the beginning is based
mainly on the fact that Swami Dayanand Saraswati, himself was against the form
of Hinduism which preached idol worship and the prevalent practice of child
marriage, widow celibacy and the caste system in the name of religion. He
believed in the Hinduism of the Vedic times which did not accord any
superiority to the Brahmins which was a later manifestation of the religion.

The British were
also aware that the movement was politically motivated and some even felt that
after the 1857 Mutiny, this movement was the next big challenge for the
British, since it had spread across the country. Swamiji had tried to build a
secular movement around it and he also got support from the likes of Bal
Gangadhar Tilak and others, but it became an unfortunate cause for communal
rivalry.

The selection of
cow was not just to get the cow-slaughter stopped. Cow had always had a very
special place in the Hindu religion right from the Vedic times. In the Rig
Veda, the cow has been equated with god. According to a myth from Bhagavata
Purana, Bhoodevi or the earth goddess used to nourish mankind in every aspect
of life. But man started exploiting earth for more and more, till Bhoodevi could
bear it no more. She took the form of a cow and ran away which led to famine on
earth, since the nourishment to plants was missing. Vishnu in the form of
Prithu descended on earth and tried to convince her, but Bhoodevi was not ready
to pardon mankind for such mindless exploitation. Prithu convinced her that man
would respect her and he himself would come to earth in future and teach man to
love and respect cows. Bhoodevi, satisfied agreed to return to earth and from
then onwards, as the beloved of Prithu, she came to be known as Prithvi. Vishnu
kept his word and as Lord Krishna took birth in the family of cowherds and is
also known as Gopala and advocated veneration of cows.

Prithu chasing Bhoodevi - A Pahari Painting*

The picture
given at the beginning of this post also illustrates the same and true to the
secular nature, the cow showers its bounty on all, irrespective of man’s
religion. This is shown at the bottom of the illustration by a man handing over
milk to Hindus, Parsi, British and Muslims alike. The slaughterer is not shown
as one belonging to any religion, but a demon or an asura, once again depicting the killer in negative shade. Many
nationalists have opined that the asura
is to be understood as the common force of British, but this is a debatable
point, since it already shows a British being offered milk.

In simple terms,
the use of a cow could be seen as a simple symbolism where the cow is shown as
mother earth which is equated to the nation at large. The slaughter of cow was
to be seen as the killing of the nation by foreign rulers and the people of the
country were asked to stop it. The above is just another example of the multifaceted application of mythology, the treasure-trove of civilisation.
From personal to national, it has far-reaching manifestations and usage.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

All who have
seen the 1971 Hindi movie, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Guddi" would understand what I am going to say. The scene where a school-girl
Jaya Bhaduri (as she was known then) in her frocks goes inside a room and
emerges out of it wearing a red silk saree,
leaving everybody awestruck, was replayed at my home yesterday.

My daughter
became a young lady yesterday, when she wore a saree for her school farewell. I can’t remember when my small girl
who would hold my hand while crossing the road and look up to me, started
staring at me at the same level (an inch taller than me I suppose, in her high
heeled shoes!) slipping her arm in my arm, grew up to look absolutely stunning.
Is this the same bundle of joy that I brought home from the hospital some
fifteen years back? Is this the same chubby kid who would giggle at every
gimmick of mine? Is this the same girl who would be uncomfortable in the
squeak-when-you-walk shoe, walking confidently in the new heeled shoe?

First day to School - 2002

Last day in School - 2013

Just when did
this metamorphosis happen?

In the three-hour movie I could see it happen with
Jaya Bhaduri, but how did I miss it for my daughter? When did she stop wearing
lacy frocks and jump into jeans and now a saree?
When did Enid Blyton’s Noddy give way to Harry Potter? When did Cartoon Network
get replaced by the soaps of Star World? When did small shoes give way to
high-heeled shoes? When did giggles on silly gimmicks give way to ‘grow-up-Dad’
looks? Life sure has been fast!

For the moment,
I was speechless, and for the rest of the evening, I was worried. How could I
let her alone in this big bad world? The small girl has grown up and will soon
be ready to fly – will the world be as caring as the confines of my home? Will
she find the care and comfort that I have provided her till date?

But let’s leave
the worries for another day and savour the moment, that for want of a better
word I call – my Guddi moment!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

In the last
post, we discussed the origins and significance of the massive Kumbh Mela which
is currently being held in Allahabad, India. Its sheer enormity and the
gathering from all over the country and parts of the world, has intrigued many
a foreigner, who come down to attend every Kumbh Mela in hordes. Besides the
religious fervour, which is at its full display, there is another very
intriguing aspect of the Mela and
that is the Naga Baba’s, or the naked ascetics.

World over, they
seem to be the most photographed and also the most discussed aspect of the fair.
In some, they evoke a sense of faith, while in some they evoke a sense of
intrigue while for some they evoke a sense of revulsion. Just who are these babas and why are they the way they are?

The Naga babas are notable by their
appearance, they are naked, and have long, knotted and unkempt hair, with ash
smeared all over their bodies. They do not wear a shred of cloth even in peak
winters and keep themselves warm by smoking ‘chillum’ or local marijuana. Many of them carry trishul or the trident carried by Lord
Shiva as they are all followers of Lord Shiva. Many are known to perform
inhuman tasks and some of them are known for doing things that the modern day
civilisation might term weird, like standing on one leg for decades or using
only one hand, or sleeping on a bed of sharp nails or standing on their heads
for days, so on and so forth.

If one observes
them closely, one can find in them all aspects of Shiva, except for the nudity.
The nudity is a sign of renunciation of all material possessions and a sign of
lack of any human inhibition. It also shows that they have parted with worldly
pleasures and nothing arouses them, both sexually as well as emotionally and
are at one with their god. This is another aspect which distinguishes them from
their Lord (Shiva), who is a much married and a family man with wife and
children. However, this renunciation of the baba’s
is to end to the cycle of life and death and attain salvation. The reverence
given to them can be seen in the fact that the first dip in waters during the
Kumbh Mela is allowed to them.

The Naga baba’s consider the god Dattatreya as their
Guru (who was considered to be the first naga
baba) and the Adi Shankaracharya is supposed to have organised them in akharas, or camps, some of them being
the Udasins, the Gorakhnatis, the Aghoris
and the Yogis amongst the main ones. They
were brave and did not care much for their lives and thus have been part of
regiments fighting the early Mughals and later British. This streak of
aggression is found in many of these babas
even today, and thus often referred to as the warrior-ascetics.

If anybody tells
me that they get photographed due to their nudity, then I would like to say,
that there is much more nudity (and aesthetic at that), elsewhere and the Naga babas are definitely not satisfying that
voyeuristic need. It is their unique lifestyle and the way they are that
arouses both a sense of wonder and a squeamish suspicion about the babas. Needless to say, that they also
have a heavy following in terms of disciples many of who are amongst the rich
and famous of India.

Many feel
threatened and embarrassed by this uncanny focus on such people during the
fair. To this I only have to say, that these men are the followers of an
ancient faith and live in the past out of their own volition and the impression
that they create cannot be interpolated on an entire country or a philosophy
which has many aspects to feel proud of. I don’t see this even as an
aberration, but just another aspect of the diverse fabric of a philosophy,
better known as Hinduism.

About Me

Utkarsh has qualifications in Mythology, both Indian and World from Mumbai University. He is also a faculty on the subject of Comparative Mythology, at the Mumbai University, India. Utkarsh is also a regular trainer and lecturer on varying subjects at private organisations and educational institutions.

Utkarsh has more than 2 decades of experience in Sales and Business Development of IT products and solutions. He has worked with some of the well known IT organisations, some being start-ups, in India. Utkarsh is also a regular trainer and lecturer on varying subjects at private organisations and educational institutions.

Besides his Blog he is also a content provider to a few portals on similar subjects. Some of his short stories have been published in the well known literary story Blog, called LITIZEN. Utkarsh has also written a book on the subject of mythological-fiction, and working on another one, both of which are expected to be published in the next few months.